GUNS N' ROSES star DJ Ashba almost died while trying to quit smoking after turning to electronic cigarettes to get his fix.

The guitarist tried to quit the bad habit in 2012, when he began using an electronic inhaler to satisfy his nicotine cravings while weaning himself off cigarettes - but the dodgy purchase from Poland caused the Sweet Child O' Mine hitmaker to be rushed to hospital.

On Wednesday (26Jun13), DJ Ashba posted a photo of himself smoking a cigarette on his Instagram.com account, prompting a follower to reply, "I thought you quit the cigs, man?"

The 40 year old responded: "I did quit (cigarettes) for 9 months. However, I was smoking fake cigarettes that I bought in a mall in Poland which contained high doses of nicotine and antifreeze, which kills people. Nobody knows this, but I was rushed to the hospital put on heart monitors and I had eight of the best doctors trying to save my life.

"Poison control confirmed that the nicotine intake that was going into my body from the fake cigarettes was equivalent to smoking 33 packs of cigarettes a day. After doing a full body Cat scan, the doctors were amazed that every organ in my body was in perfect condition. They advised me to start smoking real cigarettes because my body would go into shock if I just stop smoking, so now I can wean myself off of real cigarettes and hopefully quit for good this time. We purposely kept this out of the press but that is the real story of why I am smoking right now."